Handheld vacuum cleaners are well known and have been manufactured and sold by various manufacturers for several years. Typically, a handheld vacuum cleaner comprises a casing which houses a motor and fan unit for drawing air into the cleaner via an inlet, and a separation device such as a filter or bag for separating dirt and dust from the incoming airflow. An example of such a vacuum cleaner is shown in GB 1207278.
Handheld vacuum cleaners have more recently been developed to incorporate cyclonic separation systems which are capable of removing larger items of debris from the airflow before removing finer particles using a filter or other barrier means. An example of such a device is sold by Black & Decker under the trade name DUSTBUSTER®. These vacuum cleaners are generally elongate in shape with a handle at or near a first end and a dirty air inlet located at the end remote from the handle. The cyclonic separator is therefore commonly arranged generally in a horizontal direction. This can affect the performance of the cyclonic separator or its capacity to collect dirt and dust.
A further example of a handheld vacuum cleaner incorporating a cyclonic separator is shown in GB2035787A. In this arrangement, the cyclonic separator is arranged in an upright configuration and has a base surface on which the appliance can be supported. However, the base surface of the cyclonic separator is relatively small in comparison to the appliance as a whole and the appliance is therefore relatively unstable when balanced on the base surface of the cyclonic separator.